Just two games into Ryan Tannehill’s NFL career, it already seems clear what the Jets can expect from the Dolphins quarterback Sunday — a steady diet of handoffs to Reggie Bush.
A disastrous, three-interception debut for Tannehill in the opener caused Miami to quickly change course with its No. 1 pick, and the plan to make Bush the focus of the offense worked beautifully last week in a 35-17 home rout of the Raiders.
It figures the Dolphins will try to stick to that approach again this Sunday when they play host to the Jets at Sun Life Stadium, though coach Rex Ryan’s team is vowing not to look past the big passer from Texas A&M.
The Jets can’t afford to be cocky, either, considering they face a potential death march of the 49ers, Texans and Patriots over the four weeks after this matchup.
“For the most part, we have a read on Tannehill,” said safety Yeremiah Bell, a former Dolphin. “We’ve got two games of tape on him, plus the preseason. You can tell he’s comfortable running that offense, and he has been in it for a while. He knows where to go with the football, and he handles himself really well.”
Bell is being kind in his assessment of the 6-foot-4, 222-pound Tannehill, at least this early into his pro career. The eighth overall pick in April had a debut to forget against the Texans in Week 1, getting sacked three times in addition to the three picks as Houston ran away with a 30-10 victory.
Tannehill threw 36 times against the Texans, while Bush carried just 14 times. Not surprisingly, that ratio changed dramatically in Week 2 as new Dolphins coach Joe Philbin decided Miami’s chances would be better in the hands of a veteran running back than a rookie quarterback.
Smart move: Bush came up huge against the Raiders, romping for 172 yards and two TDs on 26 carries while Tannehill mostly “game managed” his way to 200 yards and a score on 18-of-30 passing.
Considering the Jets will have All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis back and Bush’s backups are newly healthy, it would be a shock if the Dolphins go back to their Week 1 strategy of riding Tannehill’s arm.
There is also Bush’s track record against the Jets, an admittedly small sample size of just two games but enough damage (108 yards on 16 carries, for an average of 6.75 yards per attempt) to think the Dolphins will go to his well repeatedly.
But the Jets insist they will still keep one eye on Tannehill to avoid the equivalent of a sucker punch.
“The approach should never be different, whether it’s a rookie quarterback or a veteran,” cornerback Antonio Cromartie said. “You have to treat every quarterback the same, because if they’re an NFL starter, it’s for a reason.”
Tannehill’s NFL career is little more than a blip at this point, meaning there isn’t much tape to study, but the Jets claim nothing he does tomorrow will be a surprise.
That’s because Ryan and his staff did as much research on the person calling the plays for Tannehill — Dolphins offensive coordinator Mike Sherman — as they did on Tannehill himself.
Ryan said Friday the Jets didn’t watch any tape of Tannehill in college (where Sherman happened to be the quarterback’s head coach), but they did load up on film from Sherman’s stint as coach of the Packers despite that film being at least seven years old.
“We’ll feel prepared going into this game, no doubt,” Ryan said confidently yesterday when asked about the homework the Jets have done on Tannehill and Sherman. “We’ll be ready.”